Leila Bičakčić, one of Southeast Europe’s leading investigative journalism and media development experts, will chair the jury for the 2026 edition of the IJ4EU Impact Awards.
Bičakčić is co-founder and executive director of the Center for Investigative Reporting (CIN) in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Over more than two decades, she has helped build CIN into one of foremost investigative newsrooms in the Balkans, overseeing major investigations into corruption, organised crime, judicial accountability, and public governance.
Under her leadership, CIN has earned a reputation for rigorous, evidence-based reporting that has informed public debate, prompted institutional reforms, and strengthened public accountability.
Beyond the newsroom, Bičakčić has played an important role in advancing investigative journalism across the Western Balkans. She has mentored journalists, led regional media development initiatives, built international partnerships, and served on grant-selection and evaluation panels supporting independent journalism and civil society.
With an academic background in physics and economics from the University of Sarajevo, she combines analytical rigour with extensive experience in investigative reporting, newsroom leadership, media sustainability, and organisational development.
A committed advocate for independent journalism, Bičakčić believes that rigorous, evidence-based reporting is essential to democratic governance, informed public debate, and holding those in power to account.
She becomes the sixth person to chair the IJ4EU Impact Award jury, succeeding a distinguished group of media and press-freedom figures: acclaimed media lawyer Gill Phillips; award-winning journalists Paul Caruana Galizia and Attila Mong; Joanna Krawczyk, director of CORRECTIV; and Shaun Walker, Central and Eastern Europe correspondent for The Guardian.
Each year, the jury selects the winners of three €5,000 prizes recognising cross-border investigative journalism that has achieved significant public impact on transnational issues.
The 2026 winners will be announced on September 17 at a special ceremony during UNCOVERED, IJ4EU’s annual conference, hosted by Goethe-Institut Hungary in Budapest.